Round and Round and Round You Go
by LixxyChan
Summary: ... where you'll stop, nobody knows. My entries for the Great Maze Challenge. Many pairings, many prompts. Collection of short pieces.
1. Much Needed Space

My entry piece for the Great Maze Challenge.

* * *

The black haired man perched atop the rooftop, the brittle tiles creaking beneath his feet as he shifted to readjust his balance.

Cologne spread out before him, the buildings crawling with speckled lights across the dark night as he peered out into the city. He was once again attempting to spot the abnormal flashes of lights in the streets that would suggest his overbearing followers had caught up with him.

Harry Potter had moved away from England four years before when the war ended. The pressure, fame and the glaring spaces where people he used to love weren't anymore were driving him to become a recluse. It was Andromeda who suggested leaving; and she was also the one who insisted he take his young godson with him.

He had moved first to Paris, where he had settled down in a small apartment with Teddy and gotten a job in a restaurant. He finally was away from the gushing public which had followed him since he first entered the magical world, and he was loving it.

The personal space he had managed to finally obtain felt wonderful, and he was free to dote upon his godson and not worry about rabid fans chasing him down the street as he tried to do his shopping.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be. Slowly but surely he started to notice an increase in English people around him; coming into his restaurant and checking into the hotels around his flat. His time in Paris came to an end when he got caught up in a mob of people attempting to get his autograph, or a piece of his hair, or a kiss from his lips.

His adoring public had followed him to the continent.

He fled once again, grabbing only his confused godson the young metamorph's favourite teddy bear. They followed him to Spain, and then Italy, and then Russia, and now finally he was seeing the increasing magical population in Cologne. Today a peculiarly dressed old English man had entered the fish shop he was working in and asked for a magical strain of trout; one which helped cure itchiness when mixed in a certain potion.

Harry had replied in negative, forced the old man out of the shop and closed early. He would probably be fired for the stunt, but as he had to leave anyway it didn't matter so much.

He sighed as he saw the slight flashes of unnatural lights across the closest streets; clear signs of magical people doing their work.

He sighed as strains of baroque style music played into the night from a nearly street artist, and he slipped down into the window to once again pack his bags. Maybe he would have more luck evading his stalkers in Canada.


	2. The Love Letter

My first piece for the Great Maze Challenge - 'You pull out a note your boyfriend/girlfriend gave you before the maze for inspiration before you head into the dark. The words give you the strength to move forward.'

* * *

The thick parchment was starting to get ragged around the edges. He had read and reread the words lovingly inked there many times, but sometimes he needed to read them again to believe.

_I have loved you for a very long time._

The first line made him breath a sigh of relief, and he smoothed a finger over the words hoping they wouldn't disappear like the writer of them so often did.

_You make my world complete, and I wouldn't want it to go on without you here with me in it._

Their relationship had started off rocky; he didn't really trust the writer, and the writer was edgy and nervous around his friends. He wasn't used to being around such open and brazen personalities, more used to the subtleties and sneaky ways of the snakes in the pit below them. But he had stayed for him, and they had slowly become closer.

_You make the colours in a room brighter, like you bring the sun to me every day._

They had their fair share of fights over the two years they had been together; when Ron and Hermione were being obnoxious and pushy, and when Harry himself was being sullen and moody, and most of all when his beloved snake had been sneaky and manipulative.

He hated the manipulation of people; as someone who had been manipulated by Dumbledore for the majority of his teen years, even for the greater good it rubbed him the wrong way.

_I dream of you at night when there is nothing else which brings me peace._

After the war had ended, Harry had had more than enough nightmares of his own which had woken him in the night screaming out for the people he had not been able to save. His writer had nightmares about torture at the hands of his own family when he refused to join the dark side. When he could not go on laughing about the murder of muggleborn's and their families, and he stood up to his caring mother and horrid step-father to the worst end possible.

_I think of you in the day when everything else seems to fall to pieces._

When the war ended, and innocent people went to jail while murderers stayed free, Harry had despaired at the state of the world he lived in. It was ruled that forcing someone to take Veritaserum without their permission was against wizards rights, and more rich blood purists slipped through the cracks into freedom.

After the first attempt on his life, his Slytherin had hidden him away under charms and wards, determined to protect him. It was not a permanent solution, so he took a plea to the Wizengamot for a new law to be made so Veritaserum could be used in extreme cases. The law passed, and more and more people were subject to it as a part of the clean up system.

He did not get attacked again.

_I want to wake up each morning with you at my side, and fall asleep with you in my arms._

After they finally managed to capture the man who had attacked him six months later, he had been staying at the manor of his lover almost full-time, and neither of them were in a rush to change the situation. Being together was comfortable and reassuring.

_I want to help you through your problems, and have your support when I am fighting through mine._

He started to spend more time looking into old law, and finding ways to change them and improve their world. His writer had supported him through all the rough times when he was sneered and spat at in the street, and stayed with him to help him through the scorn of the traditionalists.

And when his most beloved's mother had been put into Azkaban, Harry had been there as the dark-haired boy wailed and raged against the world and his only family. The first for being so unfair to give him a family that was so messed up, and the second for being such a mess up.

_I want to make you feel special for the rest of your life._

He had received the note a week ago, given to him just before his love had left on the trip to have him mother buried on her home soil in Italy. She had died in Azkaban, and his love had sworn that he would bury her with their family from ages past.

He knew what the note was; his lover had been careful and sly, but it was definitely a marriage proposal. He folder the letter together again and reached for a spare piece of parchment.

_Dear Ron and Hermione,_

_I'd just like to tell you that Blaise has asked me to marry him, and I plan to say yes…_


	3. Getting Away

My second piece for the 'Great Maze Challenge' - Prompt: Polyjuice Potion.

* * *

Long fingers wrapped around the vial as he glanced side to side, making sure he was alone.

Harry knew he shouldn't keep doing this. It was a bad idea all around, and he was going to get caught sooner or later. Sooner, if he kept doing this in places where he could easily be stumbled upon like the back alley he was currently hiding in.

He couldn't help it though- they were all being so overbearing, and the other shoppers kept crowding him. His claustrophobia was starting to overwhelm him, and he really needed to get this shopping done.

He pulled a thin, plastic sleeve from his back pocket, and gently tugged out the blonde hair from inside. With one more glance around to ensure he was still alone, he eased the hair in to the vial and said the incantation to finish the potion.

The bubbling goo turned from a disgusting, dark brown-green colour to periwinkle blue, and started to emit a light scent of lilies. He'd managed to 'borrow' a muggle hair one day in London, knowing that nobody would recognise him if he used it for Diagon Alley.

Chugging down the concoction, he pulled out the simple handbag he had charmed for this purpose and started shoving items in it. First went his large backpack- that would be the first thing to give him away. Next went his jumper, and then buttoned shirt. Underneath, he was wearing a loose camisole that started to tighten around the chest as the Polyjuice potion took effect.

Transformation now complete, he glanced at his smaller hands and delicate wrists, and reached up to make sure he hadn't accidentally kept anything that would give him away. His light stubble was gone, as were his side burns. Grabbing a light cardigan from his expanded bag, he shrugged it over his narrow shoulders. Feeling much less claustrophobic, he shook his long, golden hair and pulled his simple handbag over his shoulder as he exited the alley.


	4. Their Own Tune

My third piece for the 'Great Maze Challenge' - Prompt: Luna in a relationship.

* * *

Nobody expected Luna to start dating; she was individual, peculiar and on a different wave length than everyone around her.

She never seemed to have a preference to anyone, always happy to have friends after the years of being avoided, but she was drifting in a different world to the rest of the student body. On a different world to the rest of everyone really. She never flirted or sought anyone out, and nobody went out of their way to pursue her in return.

Luna Lovegood was happy to do whatever she pleased, and rarely went by social conventions. She wore her own style, radish earrings included, and rambled on about mythical creatures that no one believed existed. And whilst she seemed to understand the world in a peculiar but surprisingly accurate way, she never seemed to understand the people in it.

Therefore, nobody expected her to blush over her cereal as Neville Longbottom sat casually beside her at the Ravenclaw table one day. Shocked faces stared at the couple as Neville touched her elbow lightly before turning back to his sausages. When breakfast ended and Neville left, there was not a single person in the hall who expected to see the strange occurrence happen again.

The next day, eyes followed the brown haired boy as he traversed the Great Hall to tap the slightly swaying blonde on the shoulder. Glazed grey eyes peered up into brown as he gestured to the seat next to her, and she nodded for him to sit down.

Days passed, and each meal Neville would travel to the Ravenclaw table and sit with the blonde girl. After a week, Neville started walking Luna to classes, and inviting her to spend time with him when they had free time.

Months later, students had gotten used to the strange couple still spending much of their time together. Occasionally rumours would be dragged up again as disbelief and speculation run rampant through the grape vine, but when no answers were forthcoming they would die back down again.

Luna and Neville were perfectly happy to go at their own pace in their own way, and they continued to dance to their own tune despite everyone else.


	5. Sweet Tooth

My fourth piece for the 'Great Maze Challenge' - Prompt: Favourite Candy.

* * *

Green eyes glared in frustration at the stone gargoyle which blocked his path.

"Haribo's? Chocolate stars?"

Exasperated words burst from his lips and he twitched before the entrance to the headmasters quarters. He'd been standing here for twenty minutes trying to guess the password into the rooms, and he was far past guessing magical candy names.

"Oreo's? Strawberry Laces? Kinder Egg's?"

His eyebrow started to twitch as the gargoyle remained unmoving, and the path remained blocked. It was three in the morning and he'd been summoned with 'great urgency' according to the note he had received from Dumbledore, but the old man had carelessly forgotten to give him the password. Again.

"Oh, come on! Something has to be his bleeding favourite candy of the week!"

Harry angrily kicked at the wall, and then hastily regretted it when pain sprung from his toe. Tiredly, he sat down and leant against the wall. He would just have to wait out the irritating man.

"Harry, my boy, what are you doing against the wall?" A genial voice sounded down the hall, and Harry raised his head to see the man he was silently cursing glide down the hall towards him, looking like it was a normal hour and nothing unusual was going on.

"Oh, nothing much, Headmaster. You only 'summoned me with great urgency', so I thought I'd take a nice nap right outside your door after I wasted my time guessing candy for half an hour." The sarcastic tone didn't seem to effect the ever serene look on the elderly wizards face, but it made Harry feel slightly better for being awoken at this ridiculous hour when he had classes to teach in the morning.

"All sorted now, Harry. Nothing to worry about." A resigned sigh left the exhausted mans lips as he stumbled to his feet. This was not the first time he had been summoned for nothing, nor would it be the last.

"You are an infuriating old man. And I am going back to bed."

"Goodnight, dear boy. And the password is 'Cookie Dough', if you need it again."

Next time, he was just going to ignore the stupid bird when Fawkes was sent. He calmly disregarded the fact he made this promise to himself every time he was summoned at a stupid hour by the headmaster.


	6. Dead Man Standing

This is my fifth story for the 'Great Maze Challenge' - Prompt: Ron and Harry fighting.

Warning: Mild language, mentions of sexual themes.

* * *

"You are a dead man, Potter!"

The angry words echoed across the corridor like a ricocheting bullet to the nonchalant boy with emerald eyes, which turned at the exclamation to see a seething Ronald Weasley storming down to meet him.

A pitch black eyebrow raised delicately, and he swivelled his whole body towards the oncoming, bulldozing ginger.

"I seem to be fairly alive, thank you very much. Does it hurt, having so little brain cells that you cannot discern dead from alive, Weasley?" A sneer distorted his lips as he belittled the Gryffindor who came to a stop in front of him, his victim's face flaming up like a neon sign.

"How dare you? How _dare you_?! She's my little sister, you bastard!" A knowing smirk flittered over Harry's face. Ah yes; he should of suspected this little show would be about the sister. He fingered his wand where he kept it up his sleeve thoughtfully, but left it up there. He didn't want to be accused of causing violence in the corridors unless it was obviously in self defence.

"As you know, Weasley, the Hogwarts wards detect non-consent. It's not my problem if the littlest Weasley can't resist this." He gestures to himself confidently, and finishes by smoothing a hand down his tie purposefully. The reminder that his sister had gotten dirty with a Slytherin sent Ronald further into his blind rage.

"You stay away from her!" A chuckle erupted from the seeker's mouth as he shifted forwards towards the red head in confidence.

"Ah, but is that not the problem right now, Weasel? I've had my fun; Weasley's are not my type but I will try anything once. Now that I'm not interested Weaslette has run right to you for defence against the horrible Slytherin." He paused briefly as he glanced down at the crest on his tie, before looking mockingly back into the glare focused on him. "But if she really wanted me away, she would have told you when she first came to me weeks ago. Or she just wouldn't have some begging at all, I suppose." His smirk widened as he saw the outrage in the blue eyes. "Does that bother you Weasel? That your sister and I have been having all sorts of fun for weeks, and you had no idea? And now she's run to you because I've hurt her feelings, and here you are to her rescue. Like a shining knight in horrible, second-hand armour."

Harry sneered again across at the face which was now mottled red with both embarrassment and anger. When he had taken up the youngest Weaslette it had just been for some new fun; try a new flavour, mess with a little Gryffindor. But this- this really took the cake. Seeing Ronald Weasley blow up like a bomb just made his week.

"Really, Weasel, you should be proud that one of you can get a catch. Even if it was just for a few weeks, god knows no one else of any standing will ever be with you blood traitors- you should be grateful that she's getting practise in at pleasing her betters. We all know you Weasel's need the practice." He looked up and down the blustering blood traitor pointedly, whose anger was showing in the balled fists and pink in his face. "Now, I have better places to be than comforting your wounded pride. Tell you sister she gave an excellent blow, but it just wasn't enough to get past her hideous colouring. Toodles, Weasel."

Outrage held the shaking ginger in place long enough for the Slytherin to slip into a nearby hidden passageway and silently laugh at the utter shock and betrayal which was painted on Ronald Weasley's face. He stumbled out of his shock to discover the focus of his rage gone.

"_Potter_!" The angry cry reverberated down the lengthy corridor, but Harry just smirked and sauntered away. He was always happy to cause trouble for blood traitors like Weasel, and the oncoming fight should be splendid.


	7. The Reason Why

My sixth piece for the 'Great Maze Challenge' - prompts: teapot, Ron Weasley.

* * *

Watery blue eyes peered down into the cold tea, the dregs swirling round at the slight twist of his wrist.

It wasn't meant to be this way.

He could feel the dark gaze peering at him from across the small table, and he paused his swirling to glance up.

Blaise Zabini sat up straight and regal, looking as if it was just another day in their lives. Sitting here, drinking tea as they did each morning out of the teacup they had bought together on their first anniversary of getting together.

He looked back down into the beverage they both enjoyed so much and contemplated this moment. Really, it was what he had been expecting for months. One couldn't just be what they were forever after all. But this moment had not been how he expected it.

"Your mum wants us to get married?" The question rushed out of him, words crushing together.

"Yes." The answer was short and clipped.

"And you thought the best way to get my cooperation would be to tell me that instead of just asking like a normal person?" Incredulity coloured his words as he looked back up into the eyes of his lover. Really, could Slytherins not act like normal people?

"I thought it would be best to be honest." The words held no inclination of whether Blaise himself wanted to get married- and that was the worst part. Ron had been expecting the proposal for a long while, and now he gets it and he's not even sure the man he wants to marry wants him.

Blaise had always been emotionally distant; a trait that could be blamed on the excess of fathers he had as an impressionable child. When they had first started dating, Ron had not believed that the Italian was actually interested. Always distant, always controlled, never the romance the ginger had believed he would have.

But the dark haired man was still everything he wanted; despite his distance, he cared. He was there when Ron needed him, and they shared a love that never would have been expected.

Still, if he was going to access this stupid proposal he needed to be sure. Blaise had never seemed bothered about marriage, even to him.

"Do you want us to get married?" He tried to make the question nonchalant, but he knew he failed as insecurity crept into his tone. He had always been a strait-forward person; subtlety never one of his strong points.

For the first time in the conversation, blue eyes saw shock cross his beloved's face. It wasn't obvious; a slight widening of the eyes and tightening of jaw muscles, but he had long tight himself to read the small signs given to him. A moment later it was gone, hidden behind the cultivated 'Slytherin Mask'.

"Yes. Did you think I didn't?" A pleased smile finally crossed the ginger's lips. Well that made it all more simple then.

"You never seemed to mind either way. I guess we're getting married then." His pleased smile was matched, and Ron reached out to refill their teacups. At least life would never be boring. Suddenly a scoff filled the silence, followed by;

"You really thought I would ask if I didn't want to marry you?"


	8. Family Gatherings

My seventh piece for the 'Great Maze Challenge' - prompts: The Burrow, Celebration, Ron Weasley.

* * *

Harry took in the scene around him; his family and friends gathered together in one place once again. Screams of delight filled the air as children ran circles around the parents, playing some bastardised version of tag, and tolerant parents eyed them from afar.

With the way the Weasley family had grown it was surprising they could still fit in one house, albeit a very expanded one thanks to Hermione. The Burrow had grown since he was a small child, with rooms for the new children couples added as they came. With Hermione so proficient in space expansion she had managed to create a business based on it, which helped families struggling with many children conceived at the end of the war to families who didn't have the money or space to keep them.

It had been eighteen years since the war, and although the Weasley family had excelled with their hard-earned hero status, there were many families that were completely devastated by the effects of the war even now.

Harry felt a friendly hand slap his back in greeting, and he turned to see an excitedly grinning Ron tug a unruffled Draco into the group behind him. He returned the smile at the couple; no one had expected Ron to end up with the prickly blonde, but they worked surprisingly well together and after a little bit of friction Draco had managed to win himself a spot with the bright family.

They exchanged greetings, and Harry turned back to look at the merry people mingling before him as the ginger man pulled his partner further into the fray.

A gentle hand touched the small of the back, and then a chaste kiss was pressed against his cheek. His smile widened as he swivelled to his husband, leaning into his body and pressing close for a second.

Charlie Weasley tightened the hand which had manoeuvred to cradle his beloved's hip, and pressed another kiss into his hairline. They both turned to survey the joyful ebb and flow of conversations made comfortable by years of friendship, happy to see all the people they loved celebrating once again.

They zoned in on the focus of the party, moving together to reach and cheerfully congratulate her.

"Happy birthday, Ginny!" A smile bloomed on her tanned face as she gently stroked her rounded belly and thanked them, and they merged back into the masses to allow other family members access to the birthday girl.


	9. Squabble

This is my eighth piece for the 'Great Maze Challenge' - prompts: dirigible plums, crumpled hornsacks, Luna Lovegood, Xenophilius Lovegood, (Ronald Weasley.)

* * *

Blue eyes stared incredulously at the pair standing before them, the discussion flitting back and forth as they forcefully debated about things that may as well have been another language for all he knew of them.

"Dirigible plums are clearly not native to Iceland, Daddy, don't be silly." Luna asserted in a no-nonsense tone as she sternly stared at her father, her arms crossed on her chest.

At this point, the red haired boy started lightly in recognition- he actually knew what dirigible plums were. Harry had mentioned them once: it had been something about Luna's jewellery at the time.

"But the presence of Crumpled Hornsacks-"

"You haven't managed to locate any Crumpled Hornsacks, Daddy, because there aren't any in Iceland. This is because their natural food source- dirigible plums- is not a native plant there. I've been telling you for years." The stubborn look on Xenophilius's face told Ron that the older man hadn't believed it for a second before- and still didn't now.

Despite the warning stare his daughter was now giving him, Xenophillius started again; "But the tracks in the fields we saw-"

"No, Daddy. Stop deluding yourself." Ron had not known that his blonde sometimes-friend knew the word deluding. Perhaps she should apply it to herself?

"What do you think, Ronald?" The direct question briefly made him flounder; he knew nothing of either dirigible plums or Crumpled Hornsacks, but he recovered himself quickly. Side with the evil you know.

"Uhm, no food no creature? Hey, could you tell me-" his words were cut off by the argument starting up again, and he sighed as his eyes flicked quickly between the two again. The duo didn't seem in any hurry to finish their squabble, and he really needed the toilet.

He probably could have found the bathroom himself by now. Rubbing the back of his neck in exasperation, he carefully shuffled around the wildly gesticulating pair to wander upstairs. It couldn't be that hard to find, right?


	10. Inferi

My ninth piece for the 'Great Maze Challenge' - prompts: inferi, something learnt in DADA, (Ronald Weasley).

* * *

He felt the hands reaching to grab at him, and fear blossomed in his chest.

The clammy, wet hands grasped at his heels, the cool fingernails scraping at his skin leaving oozing red welts across the pale surface.

A cool breeze pressed against his back, and he could hear the pleading of the Headmaster and smell the rotted, stale flesh in the air. The digits soon snatched higher, expanding from his ankles like a disease spreading as the greedy fingers seized his flesh and ripped it from his bones.

Through the terror and pain he shrieked and thrashed, begging and crying and screaming to get away from the monsters as grimy teeth sunk into calves and thighs. More hands scraped at his stomach as they pulled and stole from him bit by bit and left him broken spots of agony. For every inch he fought, he lost two more as the mindless savages swarmed around his convulsing body.

Slimy wet hair dragged across his skin as the teeth tore at his stomach, and his arms were pinned down by ravenous, ice-cold mouths and stiff fingers.

Just as the first unpleasantly damp touch moved across his cheek and the Headmasters sobbing died, Harry Potter bolted awake screaming out a curse with his trusted holly wand in hand. Flames enveloped the curtains at the foot of his bed, lighting up the large dormitory and his startled-awake best friend, Ron.

Sobbing into his unharmed hands, the dark haired boy ignored the red-head's worried questions and desperately attempted to forget the night which haunted him.


	11. Small Talk

My tenth story for the 'Great Maze Challenge' - prompts: curse-breaker, cursed necklace, removing the curse, (Ronald Weasley).

* * *

The world around me is hazy, like it is covered in fog, and I lean forward to eye the shiny object I can see semi-buried in the snow before me. The beautiful necklace glimmers in the winter sun, and I know something is wrong with this situation. I can't quite recall what I am doing here, or why there is jewellery carelessly left on the side of the road.

All I know is that the necklace must be mine, and I want to pick it up. My need to touch the necklace is a heavy one, and my fingers stretch out for it.

There is something wrong with this- I know it. I can feel it inside me, like a dark sense of déjà vu. Nevertheless, my fingers slip around the cool metal, and the weight feels like heaven in my grip. The opals glint in the light, their sparkling only attracting me more.

Without another thought, I raise the trinket and slip it over my head to hang around my throat.

Pain, pain all around me like I have never felt before. Fire runs up my fingers and through my wrists, burning up my legs and into my stomach. Raging battles rip through my lungs and through my throat, my head feels as though it is exploding piece by piece.

I do not feel my feet leave the floor or my eyes flash with fiery red magic, but all my limbs are taut in agony and I _just_ _can't_-

Panting heavily, Katie Bell screamed as she bolted upright into a sitting position. Her bedding piled around her, and her heart raced like the end was coming. _The end was coming._

"Katie?" the weary voice echoes out across the dormitory- it's just her dormitory, not some icy, horrible road- and it's all she can do to hang her head in her hands and cry.

These dreams had descended after the accident, and they hadn't given her a moments peace since.

"Another nightmare?" the gentle voice continued, and a hand reached out to stroke her hair away from her hidden features. A sigh came out, and Angelina perched on the edge of her bed. "I can't remember a night you have slept peacefully in months. Have you thought about seeing a healer again?"

Katie shook her head, wiping fiercely at her hidden face to reduce the teary wetness on her cheeks. "They said it was an after-effect of the curse. They can't get it to stop." the sobs stammered her words, and tears rolled down her cheeks once more.

"Perhaps a curse breaker then? I think that one of the Weasley's is one in Egypt." Katie dried her cheeks again, and slowed her breathing. She hesitantly nodded, and turned to face her friend at last.

"Thanks. I'll talk to Ron tomorrow, I guess." Angelina nodded in gladness and returned to her bed to sleep.

o.o.o

"So, you're having trouble sleeping?" Ronald Weasley's voice was rough, and he leaned uncomfortably on the nearby stone wall. He hadn't smiled as much in the last few months; Katie thought she had heard some rumours about Percy being a prat. Apparently not much had changed about the older Weasley since he had left the school.

Instead of responding verbally, she nodded her head lightly in his direction and continued studying the floor. They were waiting inside the Headmaster's office for the arrival of his brother, and she hated small talk. Especially when it was about the curse; really, she just wanted to forget the whole event.

The ginger took the hint, and went back to his own silent perusal of the room. Right on time, a taller ginger stumbled out of green flames in the fireplace, staggering to a halt a few feet away.

A dark wand was produced, and with a quick flick the ash coating him disappeared. William Weasley turned to face them, and gave his younger brother a tight grin.

"Ronnie-kins. Alright?" a ginger eyebrow twitched at the pet-name, but the keeper nodded anyway in answer.

"Alright, Bill. This is Katie- she's having trouble sleeping due to the cursed necklace she encountered. I'll leave you to it." After a speedy hug between brothers, the younger left Katie and the curse-breaker alone.

"So, cursed necklace, huh? You know what gems it used to stabilise the spell?" Bill Weasley's voice was smoother than his brothers, and the easy way he went straight past the small talk eased her into a calmer state.

"Opals. Opals set into silver." The tall man who now waving his wand in complicated patterns at her body nodded distractedly.

"Opals are easy enough to counter, if you've seen them before. Gimme a while." Thirty minutes later, Bill finished and smiled at her.

"Should be all done. Remnants of curses are easy work really, at least after working on fully functioning ones. Your dreams should be alright now, although you'll still probably have the odd, normal nightmare. Hate to leave so soon, but I really must be off." He saluted as he turned back to the fireplace, and exited quickly. Katie stood feeling bereft in the centre of the room.

"Thanks." her word echoed across the empty room, and she smiled wryly. At least he wasn't into small talk.


End file.
